What We're Reading

We're so far from achieving a post-racial society that even using the term is harmful.(author unknown)

... brownie recipe (1), brownie recipes (1), bruce bartlett (2), Brutality (7), bryan caplan (1), bud (1), budget (1), budget cuts (2), budget enforcement resolution (1), budget gap (1), buffalo soldiers (1), Bull World Health Organ (1) ...

The biggest reform to US financial regulation since the 1930s became law after President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act at a ceremony in Washington(author unknown)

Marianne Budnik on the new brand name for CA Technologies.Melanie Wells

The Florida seaport town of Pensacola has seen BP's efforts to cap the well fail before. Will this one work? Rick Outzen talks to anxious residents about whether an end to the nightmare is near. If you want to know how the Gulf Coast feels about the...Rick Outzen

The outcome of the Obama administration's lawsuit against Arizona's harsh anti-immigration law will have national consequences: Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah are all preparing similar measures, according to The Washington Post. In fact, lawmakers...(author unknown)

On June 27, the United States endorsed a joint policy declaration with the other nations participating in the G20 summit in Toronto. Under the section entitled “The Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth,” the G20 agreed to pursue “fiscal plans that will at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize or reduce government debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016.” This fact sheet puts these commitments in the context of Pew’s projections of the U.S. fiscal outlook.

(author unknown)

No matter what they say, everyone engages in statistical discrimination. (See also here).  Judging everyone as an individual is expensive, and relying on statistical generalizations is a cheap and effective alternative.  You don't clutch your purse when you see a bunch of little old ladies approaching on a deserted street.  You don't offer a policeman a joint.  You don't hire a guy with a mohawk as a receptionist at a law firm - even if he promises to get a hair cut.  Why not?  Because on average, little old ladies don't commit violent crimes, policemen arrest people for possession of marijuana, and guys with mohawks have trouble with authority.

Of course, the inevitable existence of some statistical discrimination doesn't make the practice immune to criticism.  You can grant that it's OK to some degree, but - even if the law is silent - still limited by ethics and/or etiquette.  But precisely what limitations do you think are justified, and why? 

P.S. If your behavior is inconsistent with your principles, please consider the possibility that your principles are unreasonable. :-)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels was at AEI earlier this week, speaking about healthcare reform. He was kind enough to sit down for a few minutes to talk about spending, cap-and-trade, and other topics.

In a Wall Street Journal article, Daniels had characterized the extraordinary government interventions in the economy during the past 18 months as a kind of “crony capitalism.” I asked him to describe in further detail what he meant.

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

Budget deficits can do more than fuel an economic downturn; they can impact the trade balance and negatively affect economic growth.(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wall Street is making a last stand against regulatory reform in behind-the-scenes meetings in Congress, where lobbyists hope to use high-stakes horse trading to blunt provisions that could cost the industry billions of dollars.

(author unknown)

"Bartlett’s Notations" provides commentary and aggregation of important government and academic studies and other news reports and blogs dealing with economic and fiscal matters.(author unknown)

Illinois' unwillingness to tackle its budget woes prompted Fitch to become the second agency in a week to downgrade the cash-strapped state, which is likely to push up the state's borrowing costs as it prepares to issue new debt(author unknown)